Why can?t I? It seems wherever I have to steer or brake there?s a non-skid road surface to help me. To get me to ?behave? at junctions there are traffic islands, road markings and traffic signals, maybe together tending further towards confusion than helpfulness*. There are speed bumps everywhere, even in car parks ? is there a big accident risk there, then? And to force me to concentrate on my speed, as opposed to traffic conditions and the antics of pedestrians, there?s a proliferation of cameras.
Part of the satisfaction ? enjoyment even ? of motoring is the exercise of judgment, of speed, positioning, acceleration, deceleration and behaviour. But the ability to do that is disappearing fast. We?re not allowed to think for ourselves. In the relentless pursuit of safety the authorities are determined to minimise as much risk as possible. How practical is this? Where will it all end? How much will it cost?
*Re confusing ? even dangerous ? re-engineered junctions, anyone familiar with where the road to Cassington joins the A40 west of Oxford? Lanes and lights all over the place. Approach that lot at night and it?s a profusion of red and green lights. For drivers new to it a nightmare, ?Which signal applies to me? Where should I be?? And it causes big traffic jams. The designer should be demoted to cycle tracks. Or pramways.
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"Why can't I be left to think for myself?"
Maybe because, over the years many drivers have proved that they do not have that ability, but they still have a driving licence.
There is no way for you to prove that you're any better than them, so the authorities have to legilsate for the lowest level.
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Simple. Nanny doesn't trust you, and (sadly) can point to a long history of accidents caused by others that cannot make those judgements reliably.
I know the junction you mention. By modern standards I would say its quite straightforward. Have you tried Hemel Hempstead or Swindon? Or junction 4 of the M40 - ok for those that know it well but you can always spot the "first-timer" in a blind panic.
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In a never ending desire to make the rules idiot-proof, everything gets reduced to the lowest common demoninator.
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I was behind two cars on the M53 yesterday, when the motorway narrowed to two lanes for the roadworks, the car in the middlelane , showing a green L plate, indicated and pulled over to the inside lane. The car it had been overtaking, that was directly alongside it in the inside lane, had to move fully onto the hard shoulder to avoid an accident. As the green L plate saw what was happening they swerved violently back into the middle lane, and nearly took out the Vectra that was now alongside it. That's why we have a nanny state, cos the driving test is so poor that cretins like this can pass.
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Sounds like the Vectra could be at fault too - not being able to anticipate and read the road ahead is exactly why nanny thinks for you...
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To paraphrase the great Brian "Why don't you all just think for yourselves?"
Crowd: "But how should we think for ourselves?"
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Poem on the underground (paraphrased with apologies to the author):
I wanna be the leader
I wanna be the leader
Can I?
I can?
Okay, what shall we do?
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Didn't Brian also have the great line:
(to the crowd) "Don't you see, you are all individual"
(crowd replies as one) "YES, we are all individual"
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You can think for yourself when you convince me I can trust you--tough, huh?.
Even with all the "help" some people don't get it. Like the bloke in the Mercedes Blancmange (well, it must seem like that driving one of those round the Lake District) who tried to pull out in front of me the other day then blew his horn to protest. Presumably I should have let him out onto the flowing B-road I was driving along perfectly legitimately. Townies: dontcha just love 'em?
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I could have done with some shellgrip or similar on Sunday. As I exited a roundabout I found a large patch of diesel. I was in the fwd cavalier so left foot braked the back end out, opposite locked and smoothly pulled out of the slide.
Coming towards me at the time were two jam sandwiches!!!
--
I read often, only post occasionally
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